Article: Kids & Dogs

[QOTRnew]

This hits a little too close to home for me.   My husband and I have always been huge animal lovers.  We had 2 cats & 2 dogs for our first 11 years together.   We lost the last cat (17 years) and my beloved girl dog (14 years) during my pregnancy.  Our remaining dog is almost 14 and grouchy as all hell.  I don't fully trust him around baby and he barks at every. little. noise.   I hate to admit that there have been several times, especially during the period where our little guy wasn't sleeping well and every minute of sleep was protected and valued like it was a nugget of gold, that I've considered rehoming him.  When his time comes to walk across the rainbow bridge, I know that I'll be sad, but I don't plan on getting another dog until our son is much older.   It's just too much right now.

www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2013/07/kids_and_dogs_if_you_re_having_a_baby_do_not_get_a_puppy.html

[kittyriot]

Ya, that hit home. When we got our dog four years ago, friends who were ahead of us in the kid game mentioned we'd feel this way, and I said to myself, "sure he'll get frustrating once we have a baby, but he's my dog and we'll figure out some way to make it work and adjust".

And yet, I think about re-homing him every damn day. He is just sooooo whiny and needy if you don't tire him out for three hours every day. Thank gawd my brother has a dog and works in the agriculture industry. His off season is slow so he happily includes my dog in his fun. If I didn't have my brother to help my beautiful boy probably would have ended up being re-homed.

[jcrewgirl]

This is so true. We just took our 2 year old dog to the vet - he had an ear infection and whipworms, not to mention he hadn't been groomed in 4 months. I felt like a terrible dog owner. I don't know how many times I yell at him to lay down because he's ALWAYS in the way. With all that being said, I'm still glad we got him two years ago and I wouldn't trade it for the world because I know he and DD will be best friends in a few years.

[kendy20]

We had two dogs prior to DD. Our older dog passed away(13 years old) 2 months before DD was born and it left out other dog alone. He became depressed and that only got worse once DD was born. But our dog is doing much better with DD now and we don't plan on adding anymore until DD is old enough to help with the pup.

[becole]

This is exactly why we don't have a dog and won't get one until the kids are old enough to help with the dog/ no more little babies.

[zolten]

I don't feel this is true for me at all. We have 3 big 50+ pound shedding dogs. Ive had one for 8 years before baby, another for 4, and the other for 3. They all love and play with the baby. They all get to the vet, go on walks a few times a week (same as before), andb they all sleep on the bed.

It doesn't have to be one or the other.

[Deleted]

This can go for cats as well. We have thought many times about rehoming her. I always get guilt trips when I try though.
DS takes up so much of our time and leaves us exhausted that we have no patience for our cat when she walks in front of us or acts out... and she gets practically no attention because it's all about the baby.

I know it would be best to rehome her, but DEAR GOD! People who run adoption/rehoming programs are so uptight about why you want to rehome... I got so many "you have a baby and on't love your pet anymore?" in rude tones. Ugh!

No one should feel bad for wanting to do what's best for their pet.

[Deleted]

I got my dog when I was single, and had 2 cats.. she is a border collie and behaved as such. She chewed and ate things, peed when she was excited and nervous, herded me everywhere, nipped at my legs in public, launched onto strangers walking by, etc etc.. and had mange!

It took a year of diligent training and diligent medical care before she began to calm and heal. Now she is a wonderful dog.. but it's still quite hard for her to adapt to having a baby (aka human puppy) around. I feel bad that she doesn't get to snuggle with me all day long, like when I was pregnant.

I think about getting another dog for her to play with.. but a) puppy, there is no way I have the time or energy to train a puppy in addition to training my little human and b) i just could not trust rescuing an adult dog and bringing them into my home, with my clueless active baby.

I think I'm lucky that my dog is so relaxed but it will be a while before she trusts ds. And I definitely agree that couples should think twice about getting a dog if it could potentially pose an issue when they decide to have a baby.. I see this a lot with my friends, it sucks for every one involved.

[footloose]

I have two dogs and was just thinking about venting about my younger one; the boxer. She has always been such a maniac! I have tried to train her, but she is so stubborn. Every single day I get annoyed with her for constantly following me everywhere and being underfoot, she whines and begs each time I am feeding Peyton and was just digging at the edge of the fence 20 minutes ago! I think that some of her issues are part of her breed, but some are just her annoying personality and I would love to find a way to change that so I could love her more again

[QOTRnew]

Jan 28, 2015 13:54:37 GMT -5 zolten said:

I don't feel this is true for me at all. We have 3 big 50+ pound shedding dogs. Ive had one for 8 years before baby, another for 4, and the other for 3. They all love and play with the baby. They all get to the vet, go on walks a few times a week (same as before), andb they all sleep on the bed.

It doesn't have to be one or the other.

I agree Zolten that it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be this way.  The dog we lost would have been a great dog to have with baby.  Kids loved her and she was just a big cuddle bug.  She would have had a hard time sharing me though.  She was such a mama's girl.   I have to admit that our current challenges are just as much our fault as our dog's.  We could have been much better at training and consistency over the years.   I love him like crazy and he can be so sweet, but some days he causes more stress & work than joy.    Our baby is absolutely fascinated by him though.  He squeals every time he sees him, so that is cute.

[krl52014]

I love my cats very much but they drive me crazy from time to time. I did not read the article because I've been too emotional lately.

[mary97]

DH desperately wants a dog. I'm waiting for the day when I come home and he's got a dog there. We just don't have the time for one, the attention one needs, etc. He doesn't have patience for the cat and he thinks a dog is a good idea? Poor cat isn't getting the attention he's use to but I'd never rehome him, that's already happened to him once before which is how we ended up with him.

We had a dog when I was younger and my folks ended up rehoming him because it was too much with 3 kids. I think DH's being a little short-sighted with his desire for a dog.

I'd love to have a good discussion with him about it but he'll take my not thinking it's a good idea for a long while as being a biased non-dog person rather than listening to the question of is it fair to keep dog inside for 9+ hours a day while we are at work (I'm not giving up my lunch hour everyday to take dog out to potty), are you going to walk the dog every day, do we have time to give dog the attention he deserves, etc.

[microworm]

Sadly, I agree with the article. Pre-baby, our dog was my baby girl that I loved so much and totally doted on. Now she is really annoying. The barking is just too much. I feel bad for her, because she obviously isn't getting enough attention, but if she could just cool it with the barking, it would be all good!

Edit to say that I have really fond memories of when she was a puppy and those first couple years with her, so I do not regret getting her at all.

[yogasailmomma]

I totally understand the perspective but thankfully that is not how things are here. We have a 10 year old and a 2 year old, both big dogs. The younger one has a lot of energy so the baby and I walk him 4 miles every morning and then he is lucky enough to go to work with my husband. My older dog is just happy we are around the house with her and follows us from room to room to sleep and watch us?. The older dog has lots of skin problems and isn't well all the time but I could never imagine rehoming her, she will be with us till the end. The younger dog is obsessed with the baby, sleeps on the futon on her room at night, comes and gets me if she's crying. They will be the best of friends.

And jcrewgirl my golden had constant ear infections, it happens so fast and is so common for them. Don't feel bad, at least you got it taken care of!

[athn64]

I can understand this, and have had pets in the past that might have been a problem, but our cats haven't been. I'm really grateful for that.

[Arinias]

I get the sentiment here, but I disagree. My dog definitely doesn't get as much attention and he can be annoying, but I don't regret getting him. He will kiss the baby and check on him when he cries, but mostly he doesn't like being too close because Tobias grabs and pulls his fur. But tobias loves him and gets super excited when he is close enough to touch. We also have two cats who are much the same. They mostly ignore the baby but will still cuddle with us when we are all hanging on the couch. And sometimes let tobias touch them. I feel like when the baby is older him and Rusty will be great friends. Granted i do have a low energy dog, I can let him out in the yard to go to the bathroom and he stays in the yard, we don't have to worry about walks in the winter. I think that makes a huge difference. I do get frustrated with all the fur, it's everywhere, all the time, I have dust chihuahuas in my house, but I try to clean as best I can and live with it. Not to say I don't get mad when my dog tears up a poopy diaper he pulled from the trash, or leaps on the bed while the baby is on it and freaks me out, but I still love having him. I do agree sometimes re homing is necessary and best for the pet, but I also think an animal is a lifetime commitment and you adapt and do your best. But I am a huge animal lover, always have been, and they are a huge part of my life, I couldn't imagine not having pets. All that being said, I would not consider getting a puppy until DS is a lot older, that would be too much to handle.

[becole]

Jan 28, 2015 16:38:05 GMT -5 athn64 said:

I can understand this, and have had pets in the past that might have been a problem, but our cats haven't been. I'm really grateful for that.

Yeah our cats are doing great. We made sure to really prep them before baby came home and then we added additional climbing trees to each room so they could get up and out of the way but we could still pet them and include them.

[jennybeans]

Parts of this are very true for us and I feel so bad about it!! I know our dog doesn't get enough exercise since it's so cold out and we can't take DS out in this weather. He did get a lot of exercise in the summer while I was home since we would take a walk each day with the stroller. I am waiting for the day when our dog realizes that DS can be fun and they learn to love each other.

[activebaby]

I didn't read the article because I know it would make me sad. I had 2 dogs and had to put one to sleep in July. We were together for 10 years (he was 14-16 y/o, a rescue) and it broke my heart. My other dog is 3 years old. She went to stay with my parents when we had our house on the market - it wasn't fair to her to have all the strangers around and it was better for selling the house too. Emma has loved my parents house because they have 3 dogs for her to play with. My mom wants to keep her a little longer. I am so torn. I don't think it's fair for me to keep her in our apartment with no friends now...but I also love and miss her. I don't know what decision to make. I am very blessed to have the option of my parents taking care of her for a little while.